CFN Evidence Collection Process 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A SANE nurse is caring for a pediatric patient (age 8) reporting sexual abuse. Who must provide consent for evidence collection?
- The child patient, if they can verbally agree
- A parent or legal guardian, unless they are the alleged perpetrator (Correct answer)
- The child's teacher or school counselor as a mandated reporter
- Law enforcement officer present at the examination
Correct answer: A parent or legal guardian, unless they are the alleged perpetrator
A parent or legal guardian must provide consent for a minor's examination, but if the guardian is the alleged perpetrator, alternate legal authorization must be obtained.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes the role of the forensic nurse when law enforcement requests that evidence be collected but the patient refuses?
- Collect evidence anyway to support the criminal investigation
- Respect patient autonomy and decline to collect evidence without consent (Correct answer)
- Contact the prosecutor's office to compel evidence collection
- Document the refusal and collect evidence from the scene instead
Correct answer: Respect patient autonomy and decline to collect evidence without consent
Patient autonomy is paramount; evidence cannot be collected without informed consent regardless of law enforcement requests.
Question 3: When collecting dried blood evidence from intact skin, what technique should the forensic nurse use?
- Scrape dried blood directly into an envelope with a clean blade
- Moisten the area with distilled water and swab, then follow with a dry swab (Correct answer)
- Apply adhesive tape to lift the dried blood flakes
- Photograph only; do not attempt to collect dried blood from skin
Correct answer: Moisten the area with distilled water and swab, then follow with a dry swab
The double-swab technique with a moistened swab followed by a dry swab is optimal for collecting dried biological material from skin surfaces.
Question 4: A forensic nurse notes that the assault kit will not be submitted to the crime lab immediately. What is the appropriate storage condition for biological evidence?
- Room temperature in a locked cabinet
- Frozen at -20°C to preserve all biological material
- Refrigerated at 2–8°C in a secured, designated evidence refrigerator (Correct answer)
- Stored with desiccant packets in a sealed plastic container at room temperature
Correct answer: Refrigerated at 2–8°C in a secured, designated evidence refrigerator
Biological evidence should be refrigerated at 2–8°C in a secured evidence refrigerator to retard degradation while maintaining chain of custody.
Question 5: During evidence collection, the forensic nurse accidentally contaminates a swab by touching it to a non-target surface. What is the correct response?
- Use the swab anyway and document the contamination in the notes
- Discard the contaminated swab, obtain a new one, and document the error in the collection record (Correct answer)
- Sterilize the swab tip with 70% isopropyl alcohol and continue collection
- Submit the swab but notify the lab of potential contamination verbally
Correct answer: Discard the contaminated swab, obtain a new one, and document the error in the collection record
A contaminated swab must be discarded and a new one used; the error must be documented transparently in the collection record to maintain chain of custody integrity.
Question 6: What is the significance of collecting a 'known' buccal reference swab from the sexual assault victim?
- It is used to rule out the victim as a suspect in the crime
- It provides the victim's DNA profile to exclude their contributions from mixed DNA samples (Correct answer)
- It serves as evidence of the victim's presence at the scene
- It is required by law enforcement before any other samples can be tested
Correct answer: It provides the victim's DNA profile to exclude their contributions from mixed DNA samples
The victim's reference buccal swab allows the forensic lab to subtract the victim's DNA profile from mixed samples, isolating the perpetrator's DNA.
Question 7: A forensic nurse is asked to testify about the evidence collection process. Which type of testimony is the forensic nurse qualified to provide?
- Lay witness testimony about personal observations only
- Expert witness testimony on forensic nursing standards and evidence collection procedures (Correct answer)
- Character witness testimony about the victim's credibility
- Hearsay testimony about what the patient reported to other clinicians
Correct answer: Expert witness testimony on forensic nursing standards and evidence collection procedures
A forensic nurse with appropriate training and credentials qualifies as an expert witness to testify about forensic nursing standards, evidence collection procedures, and findings.
CFN Evidence Collection Process 5
A SANE nurse is caring for a pediatric patient (age 8) reporting sexual abuse.
Who must provide consent for evidence collection?